Something to Be Desired: Analysis of Major Characters
"Something to Be Desired: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricate lives of key figures in a narrative centered around themes of love, loss, and self-discovery. The protagonist, Lucien Taylor, grapples with a profound sense of meaninglessness stemming from a tumultuous childhood marked by family dysfunction. As he navigates through relationships with his wife Suzanne and the enigmatic Emily, he confronts his own identity and aspirations, transitioning from a foreign service career to managing a spa in his hometown, which becomes a focal point for his attempts at redemption.
Emily, a captivating but troubled woman, complicates Lucien's quest for fulfillment, as her past actions and volatile nature challenge his emotional stability. Suzanne, Lucien's college sweetheart, represents both an intellectual companion and a source of heartache, as their relationship evolves amid infidelity and separation. Other characters, such as Dee and James, contribute to the narrative's exploration of Lucien's struggles with relationships and personal growth. Through these interconnected lives, the story examines the search for purpose and the impact of unresolved pasts on present choices, ultimately prompting a reflection on the complexities of human connection.
Something to Be Desired: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Thomas McGuane
First published: 1984
Genre: Novel
Locale: Deadrock, Montana
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 1958 to the 1980's
Lucien Taylor, the main character, a man who is unsure of where to find meaning in his life. As a boy, Lucien witnesses his father with a prostitute and later hitting his mother. She admits to having had an affair, and Lucien's father leaves the family. Lucien grows up in Deadrock, Montana, with his mother, who becomes a tippler. While in college, he meets Suzanne and gets to know Emily. He marries Suzanne, and his work in the foreign service takes them to Latin America. They have a child, James. Five years after marrying, they hear that Emily has murdered Eric, her husband. Lucien feels a lack of high romance in his life and announces to Suzanne that he is not going back to work. He returns to his hometown in Montana without her and makes bail for Emily, then moves into Emily's home. He feels a sense of mission in helping Emily and begins to paint, for the sense of peace that it gives him. He and Emily make love in the mineral springs on the ranch, but the next morning, she leaves, giving him the ranch and asking if she can come back. He has no sense of purpose gradually realizes that he is becoming lonely. He tries to paint and realizes that he has no talent; the solutions to his problems seem to him to be womanizing and alcohol. From being a loner, he becomes a town fixture and barfly. He realizes that he wants Suzanne back and discovers that he wants to accomplish something big. He takes out a loan against the ranch to construct a spa around his hot mineral springs, where he has taken a succession of lovers, beginning with Emily. The spa is a success, and Lucien uses that as a lever to persuade Suzanne to bring James to see him. When she arrives, he realizes that he has never been more in love, and throughout her visit he tries to persuade her to return to him.
Emily, a raving beauty with electrifying dark eyes. She makes Lucien think of himself as a painter and a rancher. She went to high school with Lucien but had no idea who he was; nevertheless, she sleeps with him on their first date in college. He continues to sleep with her and is almost caught with her by Eric, another boyfriend who is a medical student and who later marries her. She later shoots Eric to death, a fact that she admits to Lucien. Emily agrees to give Lucien her ranch should she skip bail; when she leaves with her hired hand, he takes over the ranch. She returns after killing the hired hand and admits that she gave Lucien the ranch only so that it would not be seized by the government when she skipped bail. Lucien sends her away.
Suzanne, a brown-haired, brown-eyed beauty whom Lucien meets in college. She makes Lucien think of himself as an intellectual. When Lucien meets her, she has the easygoing nature of a 20-year-old with many suitors; she gradually rejects them. Lucien is then a bookish, curiously distracted type who will not shut up about Emily, who has abandoned him to marry Eric. Suzanne courts Lucien, rather than the other way around. After they marry, she becomes tough and smart but stays beautiful. She knows that Lucien uses prostitutes while they are married but chooses not to make an issue of it because she is afraid that she will drive him back to Emily. After they separate, she refuses to see him and to let him see James, but her position gradually softens. She sees the progress Lucien has made and allows him to make love to her when she visits his spa, but she is disappointed when Emily returns. She leaves the spa with James after Emily leaves.
Dee, an unhappily married woman from Deadrock with whom Lucien has an intermittent and never very serious affair. She is pretty, but Lucien sees minor faults. At one point, after they have dated several times and made love, she asks him to say her name; he cannot remember it. She continues to see him, however, and eventually her husband discovers the affair. He threatens Lucien at rifle point and forces him to buy seamless rain gutters from him; he seems more concerned about saving his failing business than with saving his marriage. Eventually, Dee leaves her husband and plans to leave town.
James, Lucien and Suzanne's son. He wears thick glasses and is unsure of himself when he arrives at the spa. Lucien encourages him to try new things, such as fishing, and gradually wins him over.
Wick Tompkins, Emily's lawyer, a heavy man with the hands of a laborer. He knows that Eric beat Emily but that he had not done so near the time of her death; even Emily describes the murder as premeditated. All Tompkins hopes for is a reduced sentence and to string out the judicial process so she stays free for as long as possible. After Emily skips bail, WickandLucienbecomefriends.WickaidsLucieninhisnegotiations to spend more time with James. He also relays information from and about Emily.
W. T. Austinberry, Emily's hired hand. He tells Lucien that Eric had it coming, but that a jury might not understand. He leaves with Emily when she skips bail, and she later murders him.